Wednesday, May 19, 2010

A.J. Foyt Racing pilot, and 2 time Indianapolis 500 runner-up, VitorMeira will compete alongside 1,800 other athletes in the Foster Grant Ironman World Championship 70.3 in November. Excepting a special invitation which in the past have been extended to both MLB and NFL players, Meira said, "This was actually on my bucket list". In it's 5th year, the competition consists of a 1.2 mile swim, a 56-mile bike ride, and a 13.1 mile run. With a cap of 7.5 hours, Meira's goal is to complete the grueling event in 4.5 hours, about an hour after the champion is expected to cross the line.

Meira, who previously participated in in the Ironman 70.3 Pucon event earlier this year pointed out that he wasn't just competing for the fun of it saying, "I wouldn't do it if it didn't improve my performance". According to Vitor, team owner A.J. Foytapproved his participation saying, "He [Foyt] doesn't care if I jump off a tree if it helps my on track performance".